Role of Tractional Forces and Internal Limiting Membrane in Macular Hole Formation: Insights from Intraoperative Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

We report the case of a 69-year-old patient who underwent vitrectomy for vitreomacular traction (VMT) and developed a postoperative macular hole that was observed 1 week after surgery. The hole did not close by in-office fluid-gas exchange alone, but was achieved after repeat surgery with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling. Intraoperative OCT (iOCT) images from the first surgery revealed an occult macular hole that formed after VMT release. We discuss how iOCT findings provide insight into the role of the ILM in macular hole formation and emphasize the importance of carefully inspecting iOCT images in real time to avoid missing small but important findings.